Finally got my sub 2:30!

It took 7 weeks of hard training...and even then I didn't think I had a fraction of a chance to get the time that I did! My goal leading up to the race was to be "race ready." I had quit a group run after a mile 7 weeks ago and can say with confidence that I had no plans to run the race after that night if it wasn't for the support I got. The following night I injured my toe, which kept me from running for another week while I tried self care, then finally saw a doctor who had to do a little more than I thought and needed healing time.

For the most part I dedicated the following six weeks to getting ready for the race and hit the gym as much as I could, hoping that if I could get my muscles prepped, it would give me a bit of a leg up. In doing that, some pretty awesome things happened. First, I lost 10lbs! I changed some of my food choices, so that I wasn't feeling so sluggish all the time, but for the most part still eating like crazy as I generally do...and it's working. ;) The other thing was that I became client of the month at Bodyco! Considering how much they are helping me, I was very surprised and may have shed a tear or two. There are so many amazing members of Bodyco, some of which were the initial reason why I wanted to quit in the first few weeks (that not being a bad thing, they are just super fit and I wasn't) to be recognized amongst them was an honor.

 

As race day got closer, Jody and I started to realize that PRing might be possible. My best pace per mile was in Vegas and was 11:55. In my long runs, I was clocking about 11:00-11:20. If I could keep myself at that pace, a 2:30 race was a possibility! I didn't want to get too much into my own head, because that's what gets me in trouble, but I really wanted to set this as a goal. The days leading up to the race was a long and stressful week, but I told myself I would let my body do the work, but give it all I had.

And...this happened...

 

 

I don't know how I cut so much time off, but for the first ten miles felt so good. Every time I tried to slow down, my legs wouldn't let me. I had a great stride going until about mile 10.5 when my mind started getting the best of me and I was ready to be done. Every time I would try to push, my mind would tell me otherwise. I tried to eat part of a granola bar I brought, thinking maybe I was hungry, but no luck. I realized later when looking at my splits, that I still didn't lose much time during the last 3 miles, but it felt like eternity. I turned the corner into the Suffolk Downs parking lot, didn't see the finish line, and just started walking. A runner coming in behind me (and eventually in front of me) pushed me to run a little more and then I saw this beautiful face...

 

 

Gina had brought Aaliyah to the finish line to see me!! Nobody has ever been at the finish line of any of my races, so I was super stoked! I'm not sure I would want to do it over again, because I can definitely say that I left every ounce of energy I had on that course, but am happy with the results I got in the short amount of time I worked for it. Seven weeks ago I didn't think i'd be running the half, let alone a 2:14 half!

 

Two weeks from tomorrow we will be heading to Disney to take on the Tower of Terror 10 miler and Halloween 5k, but am thinking of doing it as a celebratory race as opposed to the competitive one that I needed to prove to myself I could complete. When I toe the line, that may change, but right now I am at peace with what I got this week.

 

Now I need another goal to reach for...with that, to Spartan or not to Spartan??